The Prey's Heart
by cool shiawase
Summary: Sakyou and Shizuru captured by a nasty man-eating yuokai. How will they fight it to save each other? It happened before the Ankoku ended. I let them talk to each other for a while
1. Chapter 1

The reikai moon peeks between the leaves of swaying trees. Though it shines so bright, the light only reached the uppermost part of the stadium. Its wholeness was still darkened by its own shadow.

It's so utterly quiet. Shizuru can even hear the friction of his feet scratching and rubbing on the ground. She already covered half of the stadium's circumference. One can even trace her steps with the ashes dropping by her burning cigarette.

She wanted to see the man with the long black hair, scarred face, and slender body that fits perfectly in his black suite. It is a very foolish search actually. She has no more cigarettes at the moment because she purposely left them at the hotel. That would help her to strike a conversation with that chain smoker like herself if she happens to meet him. But up to the last blow of smoke, the person she longed to see didn't appear.

She sadly dropped the useless cigarette on the ground and fiercely stepped on it to kill its last spark of life. She's very ashamed of having that very strong feeling she would see him tonight. "Why it has to be like this?" she contemplated. "When it comes to love, my instinct always fails. I'm always wrong."

She barely knows that man and yet, she adores him in an unexplainable amount of intensity. That man saved her life twice. It simply makes her feel there is something special in her existence. She saw it in his eyes when he looked at her. And his eyes are full of loneliness, beautiful loneliness. She doesn't know why she has to describe loneliness as beautiful. Perhaps, they share the same variety of it.

"No…I feel this way because he saved my life and we both love cigarettes. That's all!", she said to herself, trying hard to expel her weird thoughts about that man.

A few more steps and suddenly she sensed danger. She keeps on walking. She'll fight it whatever it would be. Soon he finally revealed himself.

"Hello beautiful lady, would you like to play with me?" said the tall man with long black hair, wearing that usual black suite. Shizuru wouldn't mind if the man is a vicious youkai. She would fight him right away. She would never expect that the danger would be the one she was looking for. In spite of the terror, she tried to regain her composure,

"You moron", then she released her powerful kick. It hit his right jaw. Surprisingly, the attack seems effortless. It didn't give any chaos on his face. He smiled at her. She held her legs back and caressed it to lessen the excruciating pain.

"Wow, a fighting prey. Devouring on your body will be exciting." The man spoke again. Shizuru looked at him and was shocked to see his eyes. From its round shape irises, it turned to thin needle-like appearance like those with crocodile eyes. His black hair was electrified and became sharp spikes. Its length ranges for bout one yard. To Shizuru, the only decent feature of the youkai is his nose and teeth. All the warm feeling she felt towards him turns to huge disappointment but never fear. She fears no one.

"You're a demon", she said

Somewhere on the man's back sprung big black wings. He stepped nearer to her. Shizuru knew that this is not good but before she could do something, the wings covered her. Then it went blank.

She woke up in dark place. It smells good. The floor is surrounded by red and green leaves. Though it seems not appropriate to use them as perfume ingredient, the mixture of salty and mint smell were well suited to be used in marinating meat. Some of the leaves stick so hard on her arms. Pulling them one by one released the intoxicating scent that will inspire to eat or to cook. She even disturbingly wanted to lick her hands. But she was even more terrified of what might be the purpose of her, being buried on kitchen leaves by that winged youkai. "He will eat me" the truth flashed. Along with it, the moonlight passed above. Then she saw how high the wall that enclosed her. She was in the middle of a deep well. The bright moon peeks on her at the round mouth of the well. It teases her with its silence and has no plans of helping her at all.

At last, the fear manages to creep on her. But it stopped when a familiar smoke went under her nose. It was coming from the wall at her left. She stepped nearer to the source of the smoke and discovered that it was coming from a small hole of about seven centimeters in diameter.

"Who are you", she asked

The person didn't reply immediately then it said "Why are you here?" It was the voice of the man she longs to hear. It seems like the man already knows who she is.

It made her happy at an instant. It took a minute before she realized that "hey, this man is a demon! He is the one who brought me here." However, it is very unexplainable that she senses no danger this time around. All that warm feeling came back. It showers her again of the weakening but soothing excitement through her veins.

"Are you really fond of danger?"

Her heart is beating frantically now. "a youkai brought me here. He has wings and he looks so much like you." She said while looking at the hole. She could clearly see the face of his scarred face and his sorrowful eyes.

"It's weird." The man replied "the youkai who brought me here. She looks very much like you."

"Oh isn't it? But it's only on the beginning. Afterwards, he showed his wings and thin eyes."

"Wings and thin eyes? The youkai who brought me here also possess them."

Instead of worrying, Shizuru was pleased to confirm that the demon is definitely not this man. "Oh.. I don't know what to think anymore." She was smiling so wide it exposed her full set of teeth.

The man smiled too.

"It seems like you don't have any cigarette with you." the man asked.

"Yes" Shizuru said with so much anticipation.

"Here, you can have this. This is my last cigarette. If I knew this would happen, I should have brought many." The man pushed his hand out of hole that holds the half burned cigarette.

"Thank you", she eagerly put it in her mouth with foolish thoughts that they kiss indirectly. She'll definitely keep its remains secretly.

The man let out a sigh "I guess we can't think clearly now that we re running out of cigarettes. Poor us." Then they laughed softly. It started the not so serious chat on how they could get out of the deep well. Rather than to be nervous, the two seems to enjoy the moment.

If there was a tense cold sweat creeping along Shizuru's temples, it would be because she wanted to ask his name. But their conversation couldn't go to that direction and she forgot it later on.

After a while, the moonlight was covered by a shadow. Shizuru looked up and she saw the ugly youkai glowing yellow eyes. It is looking excitedly up there. He placed his one hand at the wall of the well, then the other one, he moved further, then his right foot was also in, then next, the right foot until he looks like a lizard clinging at the wall.. His mouth was drooling so hard. The saliva flowed so quick that it already reaches her.

"What's the matter?" The man asked

"The youkai. He's here and I think he looks so hungry." Shizuru told him.

"Really? Is he the one who looks very much like me?"

"Yes! And he's wearing the same too."

"Geez ..Have no mercy. Here's the knife." The man handed the knife to her hand through the hole. "I'll destroy this wall as fast as I could."

Shizuru soon heard the louder thud of the wall. He started hitting it a while go but it's more intense this time now that the danger is real. Still, not even single crack has been made to the strong wall. She knew that the man is already hurting himself.

"Its meal time lady", then the youkai laughed as he crept very fast towards his prey.


	2. Chapter 2

This is the part 2 and the last part. Thanks to Rui Amano who edited this story for me. I really had the difficulty encoding this because my keyboard is malfunctioning. Good thing, I bought a new one now.

Comments and suggestions are very much welcome. Violent feedbacks ( just deliver it nicely) are also welcome..

II. The prey's heart.

The youkai jumped. The sounds of the crushed leaves are nerve wrecking. Shizuru targets his eyes because it will cripple him tremendously. But the demon's hungry face curled up.

"What's that smell?" He asked while covering his nose. His saliva dried at an instant he lost his appetite.

Shizuru noticed that the smell of the cigarette conquered the inviting smell of the leaves. She is about to attack while the youkai is disturbed. However, it quickly crawled up again to the well. She didn't catch him.

"He's leaving", she told the man.

"Good… good", the man seems out of breath. He is panting so hard. The wall finally shows some cracks especially around the hole.

"Thank you very much. If not for the cigarette…" Shizuru didn't finish what she wanted to say when she heard something.

"This one smells nice" She heard the voice in not so distant place. It seems coming from the other side. "The youkai is there?!'

"Yes, but this is the one who looks very… much like you." The man said with prominent exhaustion in his voice.

"Don't worry, the cigarettes, they don't like it. You're smoking a while ago."

"It doesn't smell that much anymore…"

"Here's the knife", she returned it to the hole but unfortunately he didn't get the chance to get it. The youkai landed and threw him to the other side. She peeked to the hole but to her dismay, the moon was covered by the clouds.

She has an idea. She holds the knife stationary to the hole. Its whole blade exposed to the other side. "Throw her here!" She shouted hoping that her man was winning the struggle and he got her point. "Here! Here! Here!'

The wall that divides shook and the ground quaked. Momentarily uproar of dust followed. It made her coughed. But she has to stop when she felt something good has transpired. The knife has stung the flesh! She almost celebrated, only, to her horror, it was the voice of her man whom she heard was agonizing for pain afterwards.

She helplessly withdrew the knife. Then the clouds freed the moonlight. It is brighter than before. The knife was stained with red blood, the human blood. "No, what have I done?!" Her heart exclaimed. The tears start to fall.

"Hi there…" said the youkai. Through the hole, his face entered the view. Ironically, the shape of his eyes, nose and lips still closely resembles with that man. It makes her mind more blown into pieces. "Thank you so much. I almost gave up but you killed him. I can now eat and I will let you watch."

He pulled the man by his back collar. The youkai stood up and the head of the man bowing down comes into sight. It was pain after pain; Shizuru doesn't know what to do now. He dragged him further from the hole so she can see everything clearly.

Surprisingly, the head of the man moved. The scarred face looked at her. He is in pain. But that eyes showed that he still has the strength to protect her. In split seconds, the real Shizuru resurrected. She knew what to do.

The man pulled both the youkai's heels. Its body fell with its chin smashing the floor. He bends his arms and crushes his head. In the last energy that he possessed, he made it stand then push him to where the knife is desperately waiting.

One pigment of the wall fell. The cracks became longer. There were sounds of bones breaking. Shizuru ended it with one powerful kick. It shattered the half of it, burying the body of the youkai with wall pigments turned into stones.

She ran to him. He was lying on the ground, unconscious. His black suite was full of dust and has severe variety of cuts. His hair was messy as it can get but still as long as before. Fortunately, his face only had few scratches.

There was profuse bleeding at his right leg. She effortlessly cut her long sleeves and wrapped round the wound.

"Yuhuu… Shizuru, are you there?!" Her heart leaped upon hearing the familiar voice. She looked above and saw the dark shapes of three persons.

"Yes, it's me. I need help over here."

The three girls rejoiced. It was obvious that they have been searching for her for such a long time.

Botan summoned her oar and went down the well. "We were very nervous because I had to ferry a soul from here and you were missing …hey…is that Sakyou?" She was already at the bottom when she noticed.

"Sakyou?" Shizuru found out his name at last. "_Sakyou. _" It echoed in her head.

"Is he dead? But the aura that perished seems not human."

"He's still alive" Shizuru exclaimed, sounding offended about the idea of Sakyou being dead which was almost her fault. "The youkai over there, he captured us and wanted to consume us." She pointed at the pile of stones.

Botan went towards the dead. "This place smells nice", she can't help complimenting the soothing olfactory sensation the leaves make. She removed the stones and recognized the youkai.

"Its Ondiku…He really likes eating humans. We've been hunting him for years. He's really good in hiding and we don't know how he can get in and out of the ningen's world. At last he's dead!"

"But why does he look very much like Sakyou? Are they somewhat related?" Shizuru asked. There was evident irritation in her voice.

"HE LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE SaKYOU TO YOU?" Botan was very surprised.

"Why?" Shizuru finds Botan's reaction as somewhat alarming. It made her stood up and focus her attention to Botan's answer.

"Actually, Ondiku has the power to create an illusion to look very similar with the person" and Botan paused for a while to let out some giggle "his prey's heart… longs to see."

And Shizuru sees the ferry girl giving her very suspicious and questioning look. She was silenced by that. She looked again to the youkai. "But he looks different to me now!" She cried seeing the lifeless body now looks like a giant lizard with wings.

"It really works that way because he's dead." Botan seems to point out something. Her eyes were so wide and bright. It anticipates what she's going to say this time.

Thinking on how to escape Botan's indefinite interrogation, she was lost at the thoughts of Sakyou's words. "The youkai who brought me here..she looks like you."

Her mind went blank. She doesn't see Botan anymore.

_**"The youkai who brought me here..she looks like you."**_ Those lines repeated on her mind like crazy.

Botan's eyes narrowed out of waiting.

"Heyy, Yukina would like to go down there to heal Shizuru's wounds." Keiko shouted. Botan showed some mercy. She rode on her oar and sailed up. She came back with Yukina.

Shizuru noticed hesitation at Yukina's eyes while looking at Sakyou. It's like she's afraid of him. She looked at Shizuru's eyes and that cleared out something in her mind. She knelt down and untied the temporary bandage. She touched the wound. The bleeding stopped. Moreover, the cells regenerated and in just a minute, the wound was now just like a part of a finished nightmare.

"Toguro is here." It was Keiko's voice again.

"What?" they were all disturbed. Before they can react more, Toguro landed at the bottom like fallen giant stone. Small earthquake occurred. The lightweight leaves and dust flew in any direction. When it subsided, Toguro was already carrying Sakyou on his back. The girls were speechless. They are wide eyed un-reactive.

"How about you? Do you need a lift?" Toguro asked. His voice sounds deep and mean as usual. It made them feel that the offer was a joke.

It was Botan who pulled herself up first from facing their greatest foe at the competition, and to his unexpected gentlemanliness. "Aaah.. don't worry. We have the means" She was referring to her flying oar.

He didn't say anything anymore and took his antigravity jump.

"Botan take Yukina up first", Shizuru told when they're already gone. Up there, Keiko was asking if Toguro did something wrong. "We're Okay", Yukina shouted.

When the two were taking the flight out of the well, Shizuru picked up two leaves that have Sakyou's blood in it.

"Is that true?! Do you want to see me badly as I want to see you?" She asked silently while caressing the leaves. There was a clue and in some way, it answers. It makes her smile.

But it lacks concrete confirmation. It gave her unbearable desperation.

Shizuru put the leaves in her pocket. She wishes that the dark tournament would end immediately.

Botan saw it and smiled. "Something is going on." She told herself.


End file.
